Iraqi refugees living in Syria head back to their home country at the al-Tanaf border crossing between Syria and Iraq, in Syria Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. A growing wave of Iraqis are returning home from... (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

(Newser)
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US military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack today on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the government in Damascus condemned as "serious aggression." A US military official said the raid by special forces targeted the foreign fighter network that travels through Syria into Iraq. The Americans have been unable to shut the network down in the area.

"We are taking matters into our own hands," the official told the AP on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of cross-border raids. The attack came just days after the commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq said American troops were redoubling efforts to secure the Syrian border, which he called an "uncontrolled" gateway for fighters entering Iraq.